The Ring of Slytherin
by Moon-kissed Leopard
Summary: ABANDONED!There is a ring that only Parselmouths have access to with great, unimaginable power. Harry and Voldemort race to find the Ring, each solving riddles and other difficulties. Why is the ring so important, and who will get it and for what use?Ch.


The Ring of Slytherin  
  
PG  
  
1: Unusual Dreams  
  
In this chapter: Voldie vision, confusion, letter from Sirius, Hogsmeade, Nagini's visit.  
  
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On a cliff overlooking the sea stood a figure wearing a long, black cloak. The figure had features similar to a snake's: flat, pale face; slits for nostrils; and red eyes, which were slowly darkening in annoyance. It was now midnight, and he had called for a meeting a full two minutes ago. He wondered for a minute just where his slave, Wormtail, had gotten to, but dismissed it and looked back out to the white, pearly waves crashing on the beach. What did he care if Wormtail was caught? He was useless anyway. He just hoped that, if he were caught, the little rat wouldn't give away any of the more valuable information.  
  
He was growing even more impatient. "Where are they?" he growled to himself in annoyance. It was not a good idea to make this man annoyed, for he was dangerous. very dangerous.  
  
A small 'pop' signaled the arrival of one of his minions, aka Death Eaters. The masked figure fell to his knees and kissed the man's robes. In an arrogant voice, the 'masked one' murmured, "Master.".  
  
The other angrily ordered the other to stand, only to again bring him to his knees by the Cruciatus. Finally it stopped. "Lucius, never be late again. I have no care for petty excuses, and you should soon figure that out, as should your little friends. Even after all these years, they forget who their master is. One more occurrence, you will tell them, and there will be killings, and I do not mean only Mudbloods and those opposing us!"  
  
"Yes, My Lord," replied the quivering man.  
  
The first simply growled and looked down at a large snake, so far unnoticed. "Nagini," he hissed in Parseltongue.  
  
The snake, Nagini, looked up. "Yesss?" she asked.  
  
"Go to Hogwarts and give Harry Potter a message." He smiled cruelly. "Tell him that he will scream with pain and terror the next time we meet. And that I will be all powerful."  
  
Nagini looked mildly confused but answered positively and began her three- day journey. She was not nervous at all; she had travelled longer distances with no trouble at all.  
  
The man watched her leave with a humorless smile. He had a plan, a foolproof plan. Many more pops announced the arrival of more Death Eaters, who he immediately punished. He next told them of a plan, but would not reveal anything. All he told them was, "I, Lord Voldemort, will triumph above all." All due to one heirloom: the Ring of Slytherin. Now all he had to do was find it.  
  
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Harry shot upright in bed, due to Ron's wake-up call of ice water all over him. "Ron!" he snapped, irritation clear on his features. "I'm up, I'm up!" he muttered as he climbed out of bed. As he dressed, he listened to Ron's blather about how fun today would be. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and the Grand Opening of Weasley Wizarding Wheezes (an: is that right? I'm not sure.).  
  
Once Harry was properly attired, he and Ron rushed down to the Common Room, where Hermione was frantically pacing the room, checking her watch every few seconds. Once she spotted them, she exclaimed, "There you are! I've been waiting for over an hour! Everyone else left twenty minutes ago, and the twins' shop's Grand Opening is in ten minutes!" By then, she was dragging each of them down the corridors by their sleeves.  
  
"Whoa, Hermione, hold up!" Harry cried, trying to get back his footing. Ron fully backed him up on that, by nodding vigorously. Se stopped and turned to them, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, an exasperated expression on her face.  
  
When neither made a move to speak, she demanded sharply, "Well, what is it?"  
  
"Hate to tell you, 'Mione," Ron began, "but it's not even eight o'clock yet."  
  
"What are you talking about, Ron? It's 10:45!"  
  
"No," Harry contradicted, "it's more like 7:45."  
  
Hermione glanced at each of them in confusion, then an 'I-just-figured- something-out-that-you-can't' expression crossed over her face. "Don't you remember what last night was?"  
  
Both boys looked at her, completely puzzled. They slowly shook their heads.  
  
Hermione huffed and shook her head, muttering about useless causes. "Last night, you were supposed to set your clocks to 10:45, due to the wizarding New Year. You both should have remembered, or were you too drunk on butterbeer to remember?"  
  
"Hey!" Ron cried out, indignant. "I wasn't drunk! I just forget things that aren't that important!"  
  
"Er, Hermione, Ron, could you explain to me why we need to set our clocks forward three hours instead of one? And why the New Year is in the end of November?"  
  
"Well, the seasons change differently for us. I mean, Fall and Winter are the same season, and so are Spring and Summer. And the three hours is because the sun lasts three hours more or less. It's all very complicated," answered Hermione. (A/N: if you're confused, don't ask me, because I hadn't planned that part. It's only for this part. Just don't ask or review about it, as it isn't important at all.)  
  
They began walking once again, Ron and Harry adjusting their watches. Harry's watch was given to him as a birthday present from Sirius. It was silver with a blue screen. The numbers were golden Roman Numerals and it had three hands: minute hand, hour hand, and second hand. Harry wondered how he got the money to give him gifts, but didn't question. Now that he was staying with Professor Lupin, he could get gifts through him.  
  
"You know, Ron, your mum is probably throwing a fit right now in front of the store," Harry commented, chuckling at the image.  
  
"Yeah," Ron answered, a dreamy expression on his face. As quickly as it came, it was gone. "You know, I wonder who was stupid enough to give them that much money." Ron and Hermione looked at Harry suspiciously.  
  
"I have no idea," Harry lied. Fred and George had kept their promises and bought Ron a nice pair of blue dress robes, then they invented new things and opened a shop. They would manage and work on their shop every weekend, as long as they kept their grades up.  
  
Hermione scrutinized his face. "You know, Harry, you're not a very good liar."  
  
Harry turned to her, flushed at having been caught. "Who said I was lying?"  
  
"You did."  
  
"When?" Harry inquired, a confused glint in his eyes.  
  
"Just now," Hermione answered with a satisfied smirk.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, becoming extremely agitated.  
  
"Your face," she told him, like it was obvious. Seeing his confusion, she clarified, "whenever you lie, your face tinges a bit red."  
  
Harry nodded, accepting the answer. It was true, after all; he never was a good liar.  
  
As they went through the gates, Ron turned to Hermione. "So. where should we go first?"  
  
Harry was surprised. "You two are here on a date? If you are, I'll leave."  
  
"No!" they both yelled at the same time. Harry stopped and turned to them.  
  
"We're not on a date, Harry, I just asked Hermione where we should go because she knows all of the 'good' places."  
  
"Oh. So, Hermione, where ARE we going?"  
  
"Well, I was going to say Fred and George's shop, but it's most likely jam- packed with students. So, let's just go to The Three Broomsticks and have a butterbeer and hang out."  
  
Ron and Harry nodded and followed Hermione to the pub. Just before they entered, Hedwig swooped down and landed on Harry's shoulder, nipping his ear affectionately. "Hey, Hedwig," Harry greeted her, petting her feathers, which were ruffled from the long flight from wherever Sirius and Professor Lupin were. Hedwig held out her leg, indicating for Harry to untie the response letter. He did and told Hedwig to go to the Hogwarts Owlry. She nipped his ear one last time and clicked her beak, then took flight, off for Hogwarts.  
  
Harry stuffed the letter in a pocket of his robes and followed Ron and Hermione in. They chose a booth in a secluded corner and were immediately greeted by Madame Rosmerta. They ordered three butterbeers and Harry pulled the letter from his pocket. He, Ron, and Hermione huddled together as Harry read it in a whisper.  
  
"Harry:  
  
I have great news! Wormtail was caught last night around nine o'clock and I get a trial! Everyone else knows to be there (the Ministry courtroom) at one o'clock in the afternoon next Friday, and they need you, Ron, and Hermione to testify about what happened in the Shrieking Shack. Don't worry about me, I'm fine.  
  
Snuffles."  
  
When Harry finished, all three were so excited that Madame Rosmerta gve them a strange look when she brought their butterbeers. Once she was gone, they toasted "to Snuffles" and drank deeply.  
  
By the time the day was over, they had bought enough candy and butterbeer to last a lifetime from Honeydukes, joke supplies from WWW, and had filled their stomachs with junk food to their hearts' content.  
  
When Harry stumbled sleepily into his four-poster in the dorm, he had no idea that his world would change drastically within the next two weeks. For the better and the worst.  
  
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The next Tuesday evening, when Harry tiredly lumbered up to bed, he didn't expect to see a snake there, on the window ledge. Especially not "Nagini," he hissed, wondering what the Dark Lord's snake was doing in his dorm room.  
  
"Harry Potter," she greeted back, a thoughtful expression (if it was possible for a snake) flitting across her scaly face. "You ssseem confusssed."  
  
"Well, it's not everyday that the pet snake of your arch-nemesis shows up in your dormitory."  
  
"Yesss, I sssuppossse you are correct."  
  
"I am. What do you want?"  
  
"Massster told me to give you a messsage. And I quote: 'Tell him that he will ssscream with pain and terror next time we meet. And I will be all powerful.'"  
  
"How interesting." Harry replied sarcastically. "So, your master has a whole new plan on how to become 'all powerful'. Can you tell him something for me in return?"  
  
Nagini sighed, apparently frustrated. "Yesss, might asss well...."  
  
Harry smirked. "Tell him that I'm sick and tired of his stupid, petty little attempts to kill and torture me and/or ruin my life."  
  
Nagini nodded and slithered out of the window. She had something to tell her Master.  
  
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A/N: Okay, that was the whole chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and please click the little button on the left hand side and review. Thank you for reading at least. 


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